Dating The Nikuman Girl
by summercreole
Summary: Nishinoya only scrunched his face in disbelief, rubbing the sore spot on his head. "Isn't it obvious? She's my girlfriend." NishinoyaxOC fanfic.
1. public announcement

This story has been on my mind so I decided to give it a try. Maybe slight OOC, I dunno.

Disclaimer: I don't own Haikyuu

* * *

It all started when the two managers of the volleyball club announced that they won't be participating that day because Kiyoko was busy with her entrance exams and Yachi had something to do at her home. So Sugawara decided to treat everyone and made a call to deliver nikuman since they'll be the ones to do the managerial activities. And when their activities _did_ end up late, that was when the nikuman delivery girl came in time. When Sugawara paid her and the girl was about to leave, Nishinoya dashed straight towards her and patted her head which was covered by a cap.

"Manju, you're here!" he said, grinning all the while, not noticing the confused and dumbfounded stares of the other members. "Why didn't you call out to me when you saw me here though?"

The girl's bangs might be covering her eyes but the boys are all sure she was blushing red especially when Nishinoya started brushing her hair out of her eyes and pouted when the girl only avoided him.

Sugawara wanted to tell Nishinoya to leave the girl alone, but he was also curious about their relationship since the girl was mumbling: "Stop touching my hair, Yuu-kun." And if you'll look closely, the two looked like a pair of kids playing with each other's hair (the girl is about Nishinoya's height though).

Hinata turned to Tanaka. "Tanaka-san, do you know who she is?"

"She's Aki-chan from Class 2-5, the nikuman girl near Noya's house," Tanaka answered. "Noya knows her because she sometimes takes care of his grandfather."

Hinata just hummed in response but something didn't make sense at the picture. "Is that so? Then why is Noya-senpai touching her so casually?" Hinata asked, observing the odd pair. "Like... a _lot_."

"You're just imagining things again, dumbass," Kageyama commented.

"Shut up, Bakageyama!"

"Now that Hinata has mentioned it, Noya and her have been closer these past few days," Tanaka said.

"I thought so too," Ennoshita agreed. "I also saw Nishinoya visiting her class earlier."

Tsukishima then sighed, "Isn't it because they're dating?"

The others could only stare from Tsukishima then back to the odd pair.

"Tsukki!" Yamaguchi hissed loud enough as if telling him not to say anything.

"What?" Tsukishima just shrugged. "I thought they knew."

 _They're dating?_ they all thought.

Nishinoya kept on grinning at the nikuman girl then he pinched her cheek so hard that when she cried, it sounded like a puppy whimpering in pain.

"Stop teasing her," Daichi smacked Nishinoya on the head then turned to the poor girl. "I am sorry... uh..."

"Akihana Aoi," she introduced.

"Yes, Akihana-san. But may I know what your relationship with Nishinoya is?"

Nishinoya only scrunched his face in disbelief, rubbing the sore spot on his head. "Isn't it obvious? She's _my_ girlfriend."

There was a moment of silence as they tried to take in the new information.

She's **_my_** girlfriend.

 ** _My_** girlfriend.

 ** _Girlfriend._**

"WHAT?!"

Tanaka could only cry in disbelief. "Noya, how could you? You betrayed Kiyoko-san!" Then he added, "you didn't even tell me that you're dating the nikuman girl!"

"I did not betray Kiyoko-san!" Nishinoya responded, more like screamed. "I still like her, but my 'like' for Manju is different!"

 _So he's not even denying it._

Tanaka was pointing an accusing finger. "Then how long are you keeping this from me? You've been stopping by their shop behind my back, is that it?"

"I AM NOT!"

"Is she really your girlfriend? Not just your lost sister or something?" Asahi asked, still surprised about the fact that Nishinoya bagged himself a girl.

"ARE YOU DOUBTING ME?"

While they were busy arguing, Hinata turned to Tsukishima and Yamaguchi. "Hey, how did you know that they're dating?"

"We saw him waiting for someone at the vending machine," Yamaguchi interjected. "We thought it was Tanaka-san but he said..."

A very confident Nishinoya appeared at the back of his mind with a grin plastered on the libero's face while saying: _"No. I'm waiting for my girlfriend."_

"We thought it was a joke so we didn't tell anyone."

"You saying I can't have a girlfriend, huh, Yamaguchi?" Nishinoya glared at him.

Nishinoya was busy arguing with the other club members and when Aoi tried to stop him, she tripped on her shoe laces. To avoid her from falling, Kageyama (who was near her at the moment) instinctively caught her.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Aoi nodded and looked up to him. "Thank you," she murmured then immediately got off him.

They all thought that it was only a natural thing... until they looked closely and saw the tiny hint of blush on Kageyama's cheeks.

"Kageyama." There was a dark aura surrounding Nishinoya. "You saw her face, didn't you?"

The poor boy looked away in shock. "I saw nothing," he denied.

 _Kageyama, you saw something. No doubt!_

"Yuu-kun, it's fine. I will be leaving first," Aoi informed to prevent him from arguing further but Nishinoya flicked her forehead.

"I'll walk you home. Just wait here first. I'll go change."

Aoi only nodded and when Nishinoya left, the boys gathered around her.

"Akihana-san! Akihana-san!" Hinata called her attention, jumping around excitedly only for Kageyama to hold him down in place. "Since when have you been dating Noya-san?"

"... just yesterday."

"Noya and I went straight home because the manju shop was closed," Tanaka remembered. "How did you two started dating by then?"

The girl was hesitant for a moment. "Yuu-kun... er... I was sleeping in their house yesterday."

It was an innocent statement, but for Tanaka—

"THE TWO OF YOU ARE ALREADY SLEEPING WITH EACH OTHER? I REALLY CAN'T BELIEVE THAT SNEAKY NOYA!"

"Tanaka, she didn't mean it like that," Sugawara piped in.

"She didn't mention about sleeping with him either," Ennoshita added.

"I... I was visiting his grandfather yesterday and he told me to sleep in their house instead since my parents are not over. Then..." Before Aoi could continue, there was a furious blush on her cheeks and she covered her face with her hands as if hiding from them.

"Then what happened, Akihana-san?" Hinata asked, but then his attention turned towards the hair on her eyes. "Hey, why don't you try pulling your hair back like this so you could see us?"

When Hinata pushed her hair back behind her ear, that was when everyone (except for Tsukishima) had a mini heart attack. The girl was surprisingly cute! Kiyoko was on a different level of course, but Aoi could definitely pass for a model with her dark round eyes and brown locks. It's just a shame that she's not showing her beauty to everyone though.

Hinata pulled back and tried to fight the blush on his face. "I-I-I-I'M SO SORRY! I MUST'VE STARTLED YOU!"

Aoi shook her head. "It's nothing. Yuu-kun also does it since I tend to forget cutting my hair."

"So what happened at his house?" Daichi reverted back to the topic.

"I told him not to bother about me sleeping in our house alone. Besides, I don't want anyone, especially his grandfather and my parents, to get the wrong idea about us," Aoi told them and there was a soft smile on her lips. "But Yuu-kun was always worried about my safety so he asked me to go out with him."

 _That guy really is such a simpleton,_ Tanaka and the other seniors thought.

"Akihana-san, do you also like Noya-san?" Hinata asked.

"Eh?" Aoi gasped and Kageyama muttered, "what kind of question is that, you fool?"

"I like Noya-san because he is so cool! And he's kind since he teaches me how to receive. He also treats me ice cream sometimes!" Hinata rambled so proudly that everyone just stared at him as if he was making an idiotic speech somewhere. "How about you? Do you also like Noya-san like how he likes you?"

"Er... I... to Yuu-kun..." Her hands was fidgeting while she was trying to force the right words way out of her mouth.

All she could remember last night was his serious expression when they sat on his bed. His hair was down and he looked at her sincerely, his hazel eyes focused on her dark ones intensely while confessing, _"I want to take responsibility for my actions. I want to take care of you in their stead so please go out with me."_

She wasn't able to properly respond to his confession at first because of the tears flowing from her eyes so she just nodded firmly. _"I will be in your care, Yuu-kun."_

"Yuu-kun doesn't need me to say it. He knows my feelings very well."

* * *

BONUS:

Nishinoya dropped her off like he had said but he was eyeing her a lot which caused her to squirm a little at his gaze.

"Yuu-kun, is there something wrong?" she asked.

Nishinoya inched his face closer and when Aoi thought he was about to kiss her, she tried to cover his mouth but he just placed a blue hair clip on her bangs then grinned at his masterpiece.

"You told me Shoyo touched your hair so I thought this would do."

"Oh, thank you." She was about to go inside when she remembered something. "... Yuu-kun?"

"Yes?"

"Were you jealous?"

Nishinoya was only silent. She inched closer to his face to read his expression. "You don't like other guys touching me?"

And he went home blushing.


	2. keeping secrets

_At the school hallway..._

Tanaka dropped by Class 2-5 to return Aoi's notebook. After doing so, Aoi informed him that manju shop will be closed tomorrow since she'll be modelling for Ennoshita.

"EH?! ENNOSHITA ASKED YOU TO BE THEIR MODEL?!" Tanaka asked.

Aoi immediately covered Tanaka's mouth to avoid strange gossips from her classmates. "Ryu-san! Not so loud!" Then she removed her hands from him. "And yes, Ennoshita-san asked me to be their model for his group project."

"Oh, I see. That's great! Did you tell Noya about it?"

"Well... that's the problem. I can't tell Yuu-kun."

Now that made Tanaka confused. Aoi doesn't keep secrets from Nishinoya because she heard that keeping secrets are one of the main reasons of couples fighting. "Why? Are you posing nude or something?"

"O-Of course not! I would never! Ennoshita-san said that I would just be simply wearing our school uniform."

"I see. Then why can't you tell him? I'm sure Noya wouldn't mind."

"I know... but..."

She can't tell him that ever since Nishinoya gave her the hair clip, he had been extremely jealous by the attention other boys are giving to her. Even some of the volleyball club members were eyeing her that the libero was quieter than usual during their practice matches. Daichi also mentioned that he was so jealous that he was receiving all the tosses and spikes like a synchronized robot, to the point of over exhausting and looking emotionless at everyone.

But Nishinoya is also a considerate boyfriend. Sure, he will agree on this one but Aoi wants to think about his feelings more. After, all she is his girfriend.

"Just don't tell him, okay?" Aoi pleaded.

Tanaka nodded. "Don't worry, Aki-chan. I won't."

* * *

 _Later, after volleyball practice, at the manju shop..._

Nishinoya leaned against the counter and stared at Aoi who was busy checking at the bills.

"Oi, Manju. Chikara told me that you'd be modelling for their group."

Aoi visibly stiffened but nonetheless continued with the task on hand. Tanaka really kept his promise, but she was a fool for not warning Ennoshita about it. Nishinoya, however, was annoyed with her behavior. He didn't like it when she ignores him or pretends that she doesn't know anything.

"Manju, did you not hear me?"

"I heard you, Yuu-kun."

"Then tell me about what I heard from Chikara."

She gulped hard and tried to make a face that says, _'I didn't do anything that would make you mad at me.'_

"Ennoshita-san was looking for a model so he asked me for help. I didn't want to model at first but I want to help them."

Nishinoya was silent for a moment and when Aoi took note of his blank expression, she took it as a sign that he might get _really_ mad at her this time.

"B-B-But it's not like those glamorous modelling. Ennoshita-san told me to just wear our school uniform," she assured.

Nishinoya was still quiet. _Crap, did I make him angry at me?_

After a few seconds, he sighed then shrugged. "I thought you were posing nude for them or something."

"W-What?"

"Chikara just told me that you were modelling for them and I didn't know what kind of clothes you're gonna wear so I was worried," he explained. "Since it's just our school uniform, then I'm at ease."

She raised a brow. "Y-You're not jealous?"

"I _am_ jealous. But I know you just wanted to help Chikara with their project so I won't mind. I just want one thing."

"And that is?"

"A picture of you." Nishinoya grinned cheekily. "I want one in my wallet."

"Why?"

"A good luck charm in case we're not together," he answered with a teasing smirk which made Aoi blush.

* * *

BONUS:

"Noya-san, is that a picture of Akihana-san?" Hinata asked, peeking delightedly on the open wallet as Nishinoya paid for their popsicles.

Nishinoya immediately took his change and closed the wallet so Hinata wouldn't see further of his girlfriend's innocent expression. "Yes, it is. She's cute, isn't she?"

Hinata nodded. "Why do you have a picture of her in your wallet though? Is it for good luck charm?"

Nishinoya grinned. "That's where you are wrong, Shoyo. Manju's face is there so she could _'reprimand'_ me not to waste most of my money on Gari Gari Kun popsicles!" he said with a dignity that could rival the stormy seas.

While the other team members who were with them were unamused, Hinata was suggesting excitedly, "Maybe I should also put my mom's face in my wallet too."

* * *

Author's note: I was thinking of making flashback chapters about Manju and Nishinoya.


	3. talk about feelings

Sometimes Aoi would watch Nishinoya's practice games when she has a free time because most of the time, she'll hurriedly leave the school after class and go on duty in their manju shop. And during those rare times that she was able to watch her boyfriend training, she would either witness him wearing a serious expression while playing, train the others how to receive, or worship Shimizu and try to help her with the managerial duties.

The last one bothered the other boys though.

Aoi doesn't seem to be bothered by Nishinoya's great crush on their beautiful manager, but her watching them and acting like nothing happened is one thing that even Coach Ukai wanted to not see _and_ unsee. It's like seeing a real life drama and not being able to avoid it. They wanted to not witness the awkward tension whenever the three of them are in the same place.

 _Or it would be better if Nishinoya would stop flirting with Shimizu-senpai and just pay attention to the nikuman girl._

One time, Tsukishima sat beside Aoi while she was busy writing recipes on her notebook. He took a little peek and it seemed that Aoi wanted to make a bentou for Nishinoya. When he looked at her eyes, she seemed to be so fixated with Nishinoya that him flirting with Kiyoko doesn't make her worry.

"Akihana-san," he called.

Aoi slightly jumped and to him, quickly closing her notebook. "Y-Yes, Tsu.. Tsukishima-kun, right?"

"Aren't you jealous?" Then he nodded towards their manager and libero.

She followed his line of sight and saw Nishinoya and Tanaka with their sparkling eyes while showering Kiyoko with praises. It used to bother her one time when they weren't still dating, but all her worries vanished after his confession.

"As long as he doesn't do couple-y things to other girls, then there's nothing to worry," Aoi replied with a soft smile, her eyes not leaving Nishinoya's form.

Tsukishima's eyes widened a bit in surprise but nonetheless silently agreed with her. Nishinoya must've noticed the two of them casually talking to each other so he shouted across the gym, "Oi Tsukishima, practice here instead of making moves on someone else's girlfriend!"

Instead of complying, the middle blocker just smirked. "If I were really making a move," he grasped Aoi's shoulder with one hand and pulled her against him, "then it would be like this."

That was the last straw. Nishinoya flew towards them in rage, his form resembling a miniature version of the devil. Tsukishima wasn't fazed at all so he just left Aoi to practice again and Nishinoya immediately halted mid-air when he saw Aoi's innocent face.

"Yuu-kun, you can return to your club activities now," Aoi reassured.

Nishinoya looked so hesitant, as if he wanted to say something. _He gave me that look before._

"Yuu-kun?"

"Manju," he was serious all of a sudden, "you're not falling in love with Tsukishima, right?"

 _Now where did that come from?_ "I am not. Why?"

"You told me before... that you like tall guys."

"And?"

"Maybe he's your type now or something," he mumbled like it was something he didn't want to accept, seeing that Tsukishima is a lot quieter and a lot cooler (well according to those girls who would come by to watch them).

Aoi only smiled and pinched his cheek lightly. "He is not my type. You can return now to your practice."

There was a slight smile despite him being reluctant but when Aoi noticed his new found energy, she was relieved. He should know after all that her feelings won't change so easily.

* * *

BONUS:

Aoi was staying over again at his place since her parents were on a trip. Aoi gathered the sheets around her and was about to sleep when Nishinoya suddenly hugged her from behind.

"Y-Y-Yuu-kun?" she asked, startled at the sudden display of affection. Whenever they would sleep on his bed, Nishinoya would just either kiss her head before they fall asleep or roll over and stare at the door before closing his eyes and drifting off to dreamland.

"Manju, do you also get jealous?" he asked, his breath close to her ear. "Like how I get jealous whenever other guys make a move on you?"

Aoi thought for a moment before answering. "Yes, I do. But I trust you. I know you like Shimizu-san a lot. But if your feelings for me are strong, then I have nothing to worry about."

There was silence and Aoi felt him remove his hold from her. She thought that he must've rolled to his side and decided to sleep but instead she was surprised to see him towering over her, causing her to blush and gasp for air. Even the mere fact that they were on his bed wasn't helping.

 _Be calm, Aoi. It's just Yuu-kun. He won't hurt you._

"Manju—no, Aoi."

"Y-Yes?" She wanted to look away, but his hazel eyes were seriously captivating that she can't.

"Can I kiss you?" he asked. "You can refuse if you want to."

"W-Why? Why do you think... I would refuse you, Yuu-kun?"

Something in him snapped and he instantly gave a kiss on her lips, an innocent one at that. It was a kiss with his breath tickling with hers and his lips tasting so sweet like the ice cream he always eats after school.

After that, Nishinoya rolled back to his side and mumbled a _little_ too happily, _"I finally kissed a girl."_

* * *

Author's note: *still deciding on when to work on the flashback chapters*


	4. the second kiss

The very next day, after spending a _nearly_ endless night, Nishinoya woke up and went to the kitchen to drink water. He needed to calm down and convince himself that the kiss last night was just a simple kiss because they are a couple and it's normal.

 _I'm a man. She's a woman. It's not a big deal!_

Before he could open the fridge, he saw a note written by his grandfather. He took it and read:

 _'Yuu, I leave the house to you. Please don't do anything funny to Aoi-chan or I'll tell her parents.'_

Nishinoya stared hard at the piece of paper. _Gramps probably went to a woman's place again._ Then he narrowed his eyes at the last part. _And why would I do anything funny to her?_

"Yuu-kun?"

He turned to see Aoi trudging downstairs, her hair sticking out of places while rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. Nishinoya found her cute wearing his spare shirt with her polka dot patterned pajamas.

"Where's ojii-san?" she asked, looking around.

"He went out. Looks like there's only the two of us."

At the mention of the last part, Aoi instantly blushed with steam coming out of her ears. She was panicking already while trying to hide her red face from a worried Nishinoya.

 _Y-Y-Yuu-kun and I... all alone... in **his** house! I-I-It's not like **it** would happen, r-right?_

"Manju, what's wrong?" Nishinoya asked, examining her red face which made her shriek in surprise.

"I-I-It's nothing!" She didn't mean to jump at his stare but she did and Nishinoya didn't seem to notice her distress which was a relief in itself.

He then opened the fridge and took out a small container. "Since we woke up late, guess we'll just stick to last night's curry," he said, flashing her a grin then his stomach grumbled.

"Yuu-kun, that curry can only fill up one person," Aoi pointed out worrily then offered, "I can cook while you eat."

"It's fine. We can just-" Then his stomach grumbled again and he looked away blushing. "Are you sure, Manju?"

Aoi nodded and Nishinoya just sat on the chair with a defeated sigh. She took out the pan and started heating up the leftover curry while making omurice for the two of them. Knowing Nishinoya meant that being fully aware of his big stomach when it comes to food, though he still carry his habit of leaving onions out while making a disgusted face.

When Nishinoya heard a giggle come out of her lips, he narrowed his eyes. _What's so funny?_

"Manju, what're you laughing at?" he asked, coming up behind her.

"Nothing~" Aoi only giggled and Nishinoya got only annoyed that teasing her back was the only thing in his mind.

Suddenly, he hugged her waist and pulled her closer to his chest, his mouth near her ear and Aoi found it hard to focus on her cooking with his breath tickling her skin.

"Oi, Manju." His voice was deep and masculine. "What's so funny?"

Aoi tried to fight the heat rushing up to her face. "I told you, i-it's nothing."

Nishinoya only smirked, placing his head on her shoulders while watching her hands try to focus on the food not getting burnt but failing.

"So..."

He placed a hand on her cheek then turned her face to him. She gulped as he inched his face closer.

 _Is Yuu-kun going to kiss me?_

And when she looked at his eyes, they were a deep hazel and she was sure that she'll pass out if she stared too much.

She shut her eyes closed. _Well, it's not like this is not normal. Yuu-kun is a man, after all. We also did it last night so it should be fine, right?_

But what she anticipated as a kiss was only a low laugh and a pinch on her cheek. Aoi opened her eyes and saw Nishinoya teasingly grinning at her. "Stop laughing if there's nothing funny then."

Nishinoya went back to his chair like a child who won his trophy after that and Aoi could only grip the spatula in frustration. _That Yuu-kun! I thought he was going to kiss me!_

* * *

BONUS:

The two are now situated in the living room where they both watch an action film on TV. Though Nishinoya cheers and shouts at every action scenes, he also glances every now and then at Aoi who seemed so fixated on the TV screen whenever commercials are coming up.

 _What commercial is she watching anyway?_

And when he saw a couple staring intently at each other with their faces slowly inching closer, he looked back at Aoi and saw her fidget a little. When he returned his attention back on the screen, the couple were already kissing so intensely then the toothpaste brand came up and Aoi was back on being her calm self.

 _Does she want the toothpaste from that commercial?_ he thought so he changed channels and the said commercial was airing again.

Nishinoya observed her closely and from the way her eyes were so glossy and how she was lightly licking her lips, that's when it slowly hit him.

 _She doesn't want the toothpaste, dumbass. She wants a kiss_ , a voice in his mind said.

He frowned slightly. _She could've asked for one if she **really** wanted one._

And when the commercial ended, a news program came up and Aoi was again her usual self. He was just watching her watch with her disinterested eyes.

 _Just go kiss her already,_ the voice in his mind says.

So he scooted closer and called her attention. "Aoi."

"Hm?" She looked at him and saw his stern face getting closer like this morning. "Yuu-kun?"

When she felt his forehead touching hers and their noses almost bumping, his eyes were slowly starting to close and she only knew one thing: he's gonna kiss her for real!

So she also closed her eyes, his breath already intoxicating. Her hands slowly went up to his face to feel his skin then-

"OI NOYA! WHY AREN'T YOU ANSWERING THE DOOR? GOOD THING THERE'S A KEY UNDER THE MAT!" Tanaka yelled, sliding open the door only to find Nishinoya with an unreadable expression on his face while Aoi was covering her red cheeks with her hands.

"Oh, why is Aki-chan here—"

"RYU BASTARD! YOU RUINED EVERYTHING!" Nishinoya punched him in the face.

Tanaka only glared at him and also punched him. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? YOU TOLD ME LAST NIGHT TO BRING THE ACTION MOVIE YOU'VE BEEN DYING TO WATCH LAST WEEK!"

While the two were busy fighting, Aoi was busy with her thoughts.

 _Yuu-kun and I never got our second kiss!_ she cried.


	5. his spiky hair

_At morning practice..._

"Sugawara-san, who's the kid practicing in the gym earlier?" Kageyama asked.

Apparently while he was on his way to practice on his own, he saw a kid with dark hair practicing his own receives and spikes. It was odd since Sugawara usually was the first one to come. If not, it should be Tanaka.

"Kid?" Sugawara repeated then started to think until he came up with an answer. "You mean Nishinoya?"

Kageyama was surprised. "Nishinoya-san?"

"Did you call for me?"

And when Kageyama looked closely, it really _is_ Nishinoya. _But he grew... shorter?_

"Kageyama-kun thought there was someone else occupying the gym earlier but I said it was just you," Sugawara quickly explained.

"Okay," Nishinoya seemed to agree and went off to practice again.

When he was out of sight, Sugawara patted Kageyama's back. "Kageyama-kun, if you value your life, please do not call him a kid."

And the setter only nodded.

* * *

 _During lunchtime..._

"Akihana-san, someone is calling for you."

Aoi looked up from her notes and noticed the murmurs of her classmates along with the lines 'what's a kid doing here?'. When she went out, she saw Nishinoya with his hair down and a frown on his lips.

"YUU-KUN?!" She forgot to hide her surprise that she instantly covered her mouth. "I-I mean, why is your hair down? And why are you looking for me?"

"I ran out of wax," he replied, rubbing his head. "The others are even staring at me weirdly."

"Oh."

"And for the other question, I just wanted to see you."

Aoi blushed but she insisted to get back on the topic. "Did your classmates cause you trouble?"

He shook his head. "They just kept on asking me who I am. There were even some third year girls asking if I'm lost or something."

Because you look like a kid right now, she wanted to say but he'll only get mad.

"How about Ryu-san and the other volleyball club members? Did they say something about your hair?"

"They didn't say anything..." he trailed off then remembered something. "But Kiyoko-san said that I looked a lot gentler!" He exclaimed proudly. "You think she'll say I look so handsome by the end of the day?"

Aoi nodded in agreement then pointed out, "Why wouldn't she? You're so handsome after all."

When the bell rang later on, Nishinoya was blushing the entire class.

* * *

 _During afternoon practice..._

The third years blankly stared at Nishinoya who was demonstrating another kind of receive to the first years.

 _No matter how you look at it, Nishinoya really looks like a lot shorter._

And while they were practicing, half of the gym were occupied by the cheerleading club and some of them kept on glancing at either Kageyama, Tsukishima, or Nishinoya.

"Who's their libero?"

"They say his name is Nishinoya Yuu."

"Nishinoya? The amazing libero from Chidoriyama?"

One girl nodded. "But his hair is not spiked up."

"He looks a lot cooler that way."

"I heard they also call him Guardian Deity."

The girls gasped. "That's amazing! We should ask for his phone number."

"Eh? But I heard he has a girlfriend though?"

There was a sound of disbelief. "Then which one of them?" One of them pointed at the two managers.

"He's not dating either of them."

"Then he's dating who?"

While gossiping, they saw how Nishinoya effectively saved the ball when Kageyama spiked on their team and they all swooned at that.

"He really looks so cute though. Too bad he's taken."

"Oh! Oh! I found out who he's dating."

They all turned towards the source of the voice and the girl showed a picture of Aoi on her cellphone.

"Hey, she's the manju girl from our class."

"Really? What's she like?"

"She's nice... but she looks so plain."

A ball suddenly hit the floor and bounced up towards the girls' faces. They all shrieked and the ball was about to make an impact when Nishinoya stepped in and stopped the ball with one hand.

 _He is so cool!_

"T-T-Thank you, Nishinoya—"

"Sorry," he said rather coldly than what he had intended.

They were slightly nervous at his tone. "N-No, it's—"

"I heard you girls call my girlfriend plain so I thought about hitting you."

The girls got annoyed upon the revelation but Nishinoya only grinned. Having other girls' attention sure is fun, but he knew that it would be meaningless if it wasn't her.

* * *

BONUS:

Aoi was about to make her way to the gym when she saw Yachi refilling water bottles at the tank. While the manager was busy, Aoi approached her.

"Yachi-san!"

Yachi turned to the voice. "Oh, Akihana-senpai! You're about to go to the gym, right? Give me a sec and I'll be finished here soon."

"Oh, I won't be going to the gym. I 'll be working on the shop today," Aoi informed.

"I thought you were gonna wait for Nishinoya-senpai."

"Speaking of him," she fished something out of her bag then gave it to Yachi, "please give it to Yuu-kun."

Yachi examined the material in her hand. "A hair wax?"

Aoi nodded. "As I thought, Yuu-kun is not Yuu-kun without his spiky hair."

The very next day, _everything_ was all back to normal. No one is looking at Nishinoya again like he's some kind of lost kid.


	6. flashback 1

The Karasuno Volleyball Team held its own training camp in Tokyo so when it started to rain in the middle of their practice game with Nekoma, Nishinoya found himself walking down the memory lane as he takes a quick rest on the bench.

 _It was also raining when we first met. Though I've met her even before that._

During his one week suspension, Nishinoya took it upon himself to train and become stronger for the volleyball team. He would tell himself, _Asahi-san and the others shouldn't just take it upon themselves._ So he would do a few push-ups and sit-ups or go to a nearby open field and practice his own receives. There were also times that he would jog around the whole village and stop for a while, only to feel momentary weakness but nonetheless jog again with full determination to win.

It was an afternoon when he finished practicing his receives and it started raining so he took shelter at the manju shop (which was just a few blocks away from his house). Nishinoya didn't have a problem running in the rain all the way to his house but seeing that he's slightly drenched from the drizzle earlier, he cannot risk having a cold. _I cannot be stronger if I have a cold,_ he thought so he waited for the rain to let up.

Unfortunately, the rain wasn't letting up anytime soon.

Nishinoya rubbed his head in slight frustration and sighed. _Gramps might be worried about me._

"Nishinoya-san?" a female voice called.

He turned to see a girl, probably around his height, with long brown hair that falls around her chest and if one would look closely, she has dark round eyes which was covered by her bangs. She was also wearing the Karasuno school uniform but her skirt's longer while holding an umbrella in one hand.

"You're Nishinoya-ojiisan's grandson, right?" she guessed.

 _How did she—oh. She's the Akihana girl who usually chats with Gramps; the manju shop owner's daughter._

Then he remembered her parents—Akihana Mitsuba and Akihana Toshiro—the odd cross-dressing couple who were friends/drinking buddies of his grandfather from his childhood. It wasn't until primary school that he learned how to talk to them properly.

 _But I rarely see them here in the shop for a few months now._

"What are you doing here, Nishinoya-san? Is ojii-san not at home?" she asked.

"Gramps is at home," he replied. "I'm just letting the rain up."

There was a momentary silence and pitter-patter of water from the sky. Some parts of Nishinoya's hair were down and the girl noticed how his shoulders were slightly shivering from the cold.

"D-D-Do you want to come in? It's warmer inside," she offered, her cheeks blushing.

Nishinoya shook his head. "There's no need. I'll just wait here and run back home."

"B-But you're a volleyball club member, right? If you catch a cold here, then you won't be able to play," she pointed out. "Please come in the shop."

Since the girl was so persistent, Nishinoya had no choice but to comply. When they came in the staff room, the girl immediately turned on the heater and gave him a spare blanket to cuddle in while she was preparing tea and some snacks.

 _Now that she mentioned it, how does she know I'm a volleyball club member?_

"Sorry for the wait," she announced, sitting beside him and placing the tray of food on the floor gently. "You can dig in."

Nishinoya gave his thanks and took the green tea manju. When he took a bite, he instantly felt relief. "It's warm and delicious."

"Thank you," she said. "I thought about making it warm since you were shivering outside."

"You always make this kind of stuff?"

"Since my childhood." She was kind of reminiscing something. "My parents loved this shop so much. So when the shop's Tokyo branch gained its popularity, they had to leave me here and run the shop on my own."

"Are you sad?"

"Not really. I miss them but they also come to visit me once a month so it's not a big deal."

Sensing that he was a little moved by her story, she added: "B-Besides I'm used to sleeping alone here so it's fine! Y-You don't need to feel worried about me."

Another silence ensued. Nishinoya finished eating his manju then drank his tea. "Hey, how did you know I'm a volleyball club member?"

The girl only looked away in embarrassment. "E-Er... I coincidentally watched your practice game in the gym once," she mumbled.

Nishinoya wasn't able to hear what she said plus she was looking away so he scooted closer and turned her face to him. "Oi! If you're talking to someone, stop mumbling and looking away."

And what he saw surprised him so hard that his heart was thumping. Behind her brown bangs was a beauty that could pass up as a reader's model. And when he pressed lightly on her cheeks, it felt soft under his fingertips.

 _Kiyoko-san is a goddess but this girl... she's so cute!_

Nishinoya instantly released her face and apologized. "Please forgive me for harming such a cute face! I will not do it again."

"C-Cute face?" she repeated with confusion.

"But please forgive me for another thing."

"And that is?"

"I really want to squish your cheeks," he stated with a serious expression and a closed fist. "Really hard."

The girl slowly backed away in fear. "E-EH? Y-YOU CAN'T!"

Nishinoya was so determined that he kept on moving forward until her back hit the wall. "Please! Let me squish your cheeks. It makes me feel comfortable."

Noticing Nishinoya's puppy eyes and how she can't fight back from his strength, she looked like a cornered rabbit as she nodded and let him do as he pleases. But he wasn't pinching so hard so it was a relief in itself and when she saw his cheeky grin, she can't help but feel butterflies down her stomach.

"What's your name?"

"Akihana Aoi."

"Then Aoi, from now on, I'll be calling you Manju."

"W-Why?"

"Because you're warm and squishy."

 _Like a manju, huh?_

Nishinoya's train of thought stopped when Tanaka suddenly approached him.

"Noya, is there something wrong?" he asked. "You've been staring blankly at the floor for a few minutes."

"He must be missing a certain nikuman girl," Tsukishima teased.

At the mention of nikuman, Hinata instantly whipped his attention to them. "Did someone say nikuman? I want to eat a nikuman!"

"You've eaten every single one of them last time, you dumbass!" Kageyama said, munching on one as Hinata tried to convince him to share with him.

Yamaguchi held a bag of nikuman and offered one to Nishinoya. "Nishinoya-san, here."

Nishinoya was slightly still in a trance when he took the food and ate it. The nikuman tasted like the ones Aoi brings to his grandfather.

"Where did you buy this, Daichi-san?" Nishinoya asked.

"Oh, I wasn't the one who bought it but the Nekoma team," Daichi answered. "They bought it from the near Akihana shop."

 _That's why it tasted so familiar,_ he thought as he took another bite.

 _Damn, I miss her._

* * *

BONUS:

After dinner, Nishinoya quickly took a bath and went outside to call Aoi. It seems that she was sleeping all alone in her house despite his protests that she stay in his house for the time being.

 _"Yuu-kun?"_

 _Her voice sounds so sweet!_

"Hey, Manju! You going to sleep now?"

 _"N-No. I still have things to do."_

"Is that so? Were you busy?"

 _"I wasn't."_ There was a pause. _"I'm glad that you called. I've missed you."_

Nishinoya fought the urge to scream at the top of his lungs. He really wanted to kiss her so bad.

"I've missed you too. I thought about you all day."

Aoi was only silent and he guessed that she was probably feeling shy again.

 _When I get home, I'm gonna pinch her cheeks first before kissing her._


	7. some alone time

While the Karasuno volleyball club was busy training in Tokyo, Tanaka Saeko invited Aoi in her humble abode to have their own girls' night because it has been a while since they got a time to catch things up. Plus she heard from her brother that Aoi's been dating Nishinoya for almost two months now.

"So... is Yuu a great kisser?" she asked sneakily, eyes glinting with mischief and curiosity

Aoi's eyes went wide with the heat slowly creeping up her face. "I-I wouldn't say he's not great. It's just that..."

"Just what?"

"Well... we just kissed once."

Now that made everything stop. "WHAT? WHAT IS YUU DOING? WHAT IS HE? A CHICKEN?"

 _A chicken?_

"Er... Saeko-san, it's not like that." Aoi tried to calm her down. "Yuu-kun tried to kiss me again but we were interrupted. Then he got suddenly busy with his volleyball training so..."

Saeko looked suspiscious and that made Aoi nervous.

"B-Besides it was just a quick kiss. His lips were on mine for a minute, that's all!"

"But do you want him to kiss you?"

"W-Well I... o-of course I want to!"

"Then why don't you?"

"I've tried my ways but... he didn't seem to pick up."

Saeko tried not to frown. _Oh that Yuu! He's such a simpleton like Shoyo and Tobio._

"What if you two spend alone time together?" she offered. "I have two free tickets for an onsen."

"Is it a mixed bath?"

"It's a separate one," then she added, "unless you want a mixed one. I could fix it for you."

Aoi only blushed even further and Saeko just snickered at her reaction.

"Oh and by the way, I'm calling him right now." Saeko smirked, holding up her phone with Nishinoya's caller ID.

"SAEKO-SAN, NO!"

* * *

 _Back at Tokyo..._

The boys were preparing their beds when they suddenly heard Nishinoya's phone ringing.

"Nishinoya," Asahi called. "Someone's calling you."

Faster than the speed of light, Nishinoya answered the call and barked a laugh when he heard the familiar voice.

"Nee-san! It's been a while. Ryu's here. Do you want to talk to him?" he said which in turn made Tanaka look at him with a face that says 'tell her I'm asleep or something'.

 _"Actually I wanted to talk to you."_

 _Talk to me? Now that's new._ "About what, nee-san?"

 _"You see, Aoi-chan's staying over today and she said that she wanted to spend an alone time with you."_

 _"Saeko-san!"_ Nishinoya heard Aoi's pleading voice in the background.

"Did I just hear Manju's voice?"

 _"No. You're just imagining things!"_ Saeko coughed. _"Anyways, as I was saying, Aoi-chan wanted to spend time with you so_ — _"_

"Is that so?" Nishinoya asked excitedly. "Then tell Manju that Gramps won't be home after I come back from Tokyo so we could spend some alone time at my place."

The other boys in the room flinched and some choked in their own spit. _Did Nishinoya just blatantly announce that they would do **it** in his place?_

 _"Your grandfather won't be home?"_

"Yep. If Manju wants it then we can spend all day playing and sleeping in my room."

It was an innocent statement but the only things that registered in their minds were 'playing' and 'sleeping'.

 _What kind of play and sleep is he talking about?_ the third years thought.

 _"Is that so? But I gave her two free tickets to an onsen so you two could both relax."_

"Eh? Onsen?"

Everyone turned their heads to him. Nishinoya was silent for a while before exclaiming, "That would be great! Manju and I are going to spend the whole day at the onsen!"

Nishinoya might not hear it but his other club members were already lamenting. Tanaka was not breathing. Yamaguchi was helping Hinata cover his ears to forget what they just heard. The third years' faces were all in disbelief as they registered one thing.

 _The two of them... in an onsen... for a whole day..._

"Ah, nee-san! Is it a mixed bath?"

 ** _M-M-MIXED BATH?_**

"N-N-Nishinoya!" Daichi interfered. "We should sleep now. We have an early training tomorrow."

"Ah nee-san. I'll just talk to you tomorrow. The captain is calling for me. Bye!"

And when he hang up, Nishinoya noticed the blank expression on his teammates' faces. It was as if they had seen a ghost or something.

"Hey, what happened to all of you?" he asked.

Tsukishima was the first one to respond. "Apparently, they died because you said you're going to fu—"

Yamaguchi covered his mouth in a haste. "TSUKKI!"

"Huh?"

"Don't mind, Nishinoya," Sugawara said. "Everyone, let's all just sleep."

* * *

BONUS:

Coach Ukai was bothered by how the team was acting today. Last night, they ate well and slept early. But it was an odd thing to see some of them lifeless with the exception of an energetic Nishinoya who was practicing his receives with another Nekoma member while Tsukishima was... the _usual_ Tsukishima.

"Tsukishima," Ukai called and the middle blocker stopped from practicing to go to him.

"Coach?" Tsukishima asked.

"Did something happen with the others? They all seem out of it," Ukai noticed then added, "except for Nishinoya."

The tall middle blocker just shrugged indifferently. "Last night, Nishinoya-san said he was going to spend an _alone time_ with his girlfriend at an onsen for a whole day," he answered, emphasizing 'alone time' as if there's a whole new meaning on it.

Coach Ukai was speechless. Takeda-sensei (who was beside him) must have heard it that the clipboard he was holding dropped on the floor. Yachi must have heard it too because she passed by near them and made a gagging sound as she started to ramble about her imagination of Nishinoya doing such unspeakable things.

"Well, I personally think Nishinoya-san doesn't mean it like that so I guess they should be fine," Tsukishima stated further but it seemed to be unheard by the three.

"Tsukishima-kun, is there something wrong?" Kiyoko, who suddenly came from the storage room, asked.

"Nothing. Coach just asked something," he answered then went back to practicing.

Coach Ukai and Takeda-sensei watched Nishinoya intensely who seemed so fired up about the training. Relationships aren't prohibited within the volleyball club as long as they still prioritize their studies and the volleyball club of course. Knowing Nishinoya as the Guardian Deity of the team, they sure didn't see a problem about him dating someone. Besides, most boys their age have probably done that sort of thing.

 _But isn't it too early for them?_ the two adults thought.

"You seem livelier today, Noya-san," Hinata declared.

"Well, just imagining coming home and spending alone time with Manju gets me more excited than usual," Nishinoya replied. "I can't wait to touch her!"

Coach Ukai stiffened in his position while Takeda-sensei completely turned into a stone while muttering repeatedly, "I hope it's just my imagination. I hope it's just my imagination."

 _Damn this brat! I hope he doesn't get her pregnant or I'll beat him!_

* * *

Author's note: The reads are increasing recently. Thanks for the support.


	8. trip to onsen 1

_Two days after the training camp..._

 _At the Karasuno gym..._

 _After the afternoon practice..._

"I'll be going now," Nishinoya announced, slinging his bag on. "Where's Kiyoko-san and Yacchan?"

"They're at the gates now," Asahi answered. "Be sure to keep them safe."

Nishinoya nodded with determination and pumped his fist. "Of course! Protecting our managers is a top priority for the Guardian Deity."

Then the libero waved off and started walking away. When Asahi was sure that he was out of earshot, he closed the door and said: "He's gone now."

"Okay. Then let us start the meeting!" Tanaka stated then he wrote 'how to prevent Noya from making stupid decisions at the onsen' on the board.

"As we all know, tomorrow is the day when Aki-chan and Noya will go to the onsen."

Tsukishima sighed. "And what about it?"

"In short, it is also the day when Noya will..." Tanaka trailed off as a blush dusted his cheeks, "you know what it is. Which is why we need to make a plan on preventing Noya from doing such things."

"Like what exactly, Tanaka-san?" Hinata was still slightly confused.

"You mean sex?" Ennoshita clarified and everyone stared at him with bewildered expression.

 _How could he say it with a straight face?_

"S-S-Se-S-S-Se-" Hinata tried to complete the word but it only embarrased him every time the first syllable comes out.

"But why should that be a problem though?" Kageyama asked. "Nishinoya-san and his girlfriend loves each other very much so I don't think there's such a big deal."

"For once, I agree with the King," Tsukishima muttered.

"Well given that this is Nishinoya we are talking about, I don't think he knows anything about that kind of stuff," Daichi enlightened.

Sugawara nodded. "Nishinoya likes a lots of girls, even Shimizu. But Akihana-chan is his first girlfriend. Remember when she told us that Nishinoya asked her out because he didn't want everyone getting the wrong idea about them?"

"Now that you mention it, it all makes sense," Yamaguchi added. "Nishinoya-san mentioned one time that the two of them has been sleeping on the same bed."

" ** _WHAT? SLEEPING?_** "

"But not that kind of sleeping!" Yamaguchi was quick to retort and Tsukishima was smirking at him. "Well... I don't know."

"But earlier, he was checking out for cheap love hotel prices," Asahi noted and everyone went silent. "Eh? Did I say something wrong?"

Tanaka suddenly stripped off his shirt and went into a wild mode. "ALRIGHT! WE CANNOT LET NOYA AND AKI-CHAN GO TO A LOVE HOTEL TOMORROW!"

"YES! YES!" Hinata barked.

"DEFINITELY!"

"DEFINITELY!"

"Tanaka, why are you stripping off?" Sugawara asked.

"What if Nishinoya and Akihana want to do it?" Ennoshita raised a question. "I think we should just let them be."

"But if we let them be, you never know what Noya's gonna do with her alone," Tanaka answered.

Everyone was confused. "Huh?"

"Well, Nishinoya, er... he doesn't have a clue about sex or something," Daichi spoke.

"H-How clueless could Noya-san be?" Hinata was curious and worried at the same time.

"There was one time, while cleaning up the gym," Sugawara narrated, "he found a piece of condom then..."

A flashback of Nishinoya proudly holding up a condom wrap was grinning at them while saying: _"My grandfather seems to collect a lot of these. I wonder what these are for. Is this a gum?"_

Upon hearing the story, Tsukishima and Yamaguchi were only dumbfounded. _How much of an idiot is he?_

"What is a condom anyway?" Hinata asked.

"Is that a gum?" Kageyama followed up.

Sugawara sighed and face-palmed in frustration. _Another bunch of simpletons._

* * *

 _At the Foothill Store..._

Ukai was guarding the shop with a lit cigarette between his lips. He was reading the newspaper when Aoi placed a box of tissues on the counter and recognized him.

"Coach Ukai?" she called.

Ukai looked up from the newspaper to Aoi who was waiting for him to say something.

"Oh, that would be 15 yen."

Aoi handed the money and got the box along with the receipt. She bowed first before leaving.

"You're Nishinoya's girlfriend, right?"

She nodded. "My name's Akihana Aoi."

"Er... I don't want to interfere with your relationship with him but... please don't let him get carried away with the _mood_ or something. We still need him in the team."

Aoi was confused "Um... okay?"

"And if he _really_ gets carried away, please use protection."

Aoi was slightly bothered by what the volleyball coach said but she just bowed again and left the store.

* * *

 _At the train station..._

"Manju, did you bring an ointment?" Nishinoya asked. "I forgot to bring mine."

"I have one in case," Aoi replied. "You really got way more bruises this time."

"You think so?"

While the two were engaged in a conversation, Tanaka, Hinata, and Kageyama were spying on them from afar. They were wearing hats and shades so they won't be recognizable (except for Hinata and his orange hair).

Yesterday, the three idiots decided to trail after them while Tsukishima and the other seniors were waiting at the onsen.

 _Forgive us, Nishinoya. But this is for your sake,_ Daichi mentioned.

"Oh! They're going inside the train!" Hinata informed loudly.

Kageyama slammed his fist on his head. "Dumbass, be quiet!" he hissed.

Tanaka dragged the two. "Let's follow them."

* * *

BONUS:

While inside the train, Hinata's face was planted on the window as he gazed at the scenery outside with sheer delight, gasping all the while when he saw something amazing. Kageyama, on the other hand, was beside him asleep and Tanaka was trying to look for Nishinoya and Aoi.

 _Why are the two of them not blessed with some height?_

"I can already see the sea from here!" Hinata exclaimed.

Tanaka was quick to pull Hinata by his ear. "Stop shouting! Noya and Aki-chan might hear you!"

"But they might not be near us, Tanaka-san!"

"But what if they are?"

While the two were bickering, Aoi was asleep with her head on Nishinoya's shoulder. She was clutching on his arm while Nishinoya was fully unaware of his surroundings, staring at the scenery outside with a dreamy expression and his cheeks furiously blushing.


	9. trip to onsen 2

_At the onsen..._

Sugawara sighed in satisfaction, "I don't care about the plan anymore. I just want to relax."

Asahi nodded with a smile. "Me too."

Currently, they were already bathing in the hot springs because the three idiots were still trailing after Nishinoya. They weren't supposed to be following the team's libero at the onsen but given Tanaka's determination plus the free tickets from his sister, they just went along with the plan of making sure Nishinoya doesn't screw up and plant one of his underlings inside Aoi's body.

Ennoshita then added, "Where's Daichi-san?"

"He went out for a walk," Asahi said.

Yamaguchi continued, "The place was so beautiful that he wanted to take some pictures."

Just when they were relaxing, Kinoshita ran back at the hot springs panting.

"Oh, Kinoshita! Where have you been running off to?" Sugawara asked.

Ennoshita motioned with his hand. "Yeah, join us here and relax."

"I got a message from Tanaka!" Kinoshita announced. "Nishinoya and his girlfriend already got off the train!"

* * *

 _At the streets..._

Aoi was still rubbing the sleep from her eyes with her right hand while Nishinoya was holding her left one to guide her sluggish body who doesn't seem to obey her in walking down the road.

"Do you want to stop for a second and rest?" Nishinoya asked but Aoi just shook her head.

"Don't mind me, Yuu-kun," she replied. "Let's go to the onsen. Maybe I could take a rest there."

Aoi only tightened her hold on his hand and they started walking again. The three idiots, meanwhile, were hiding behind a tree.

"Tanaka-san, what did the others say?" Hinata whispered loudly.

Tanaka looked at his phone and frowned. "Well... they're not replying."

"Maybe they're out of coverage or something," Kageyama guessed.

* * *

 _Back at the onsen..._

The boys are already drying themselves off but a worried and slightly panicking Sugawara suddenly asked: "Has anyone told Daichi about this? What if they see him?"

"I don't think they'll know he's here though, Sugawara-san," Tsukishima assured.

 _Unfortunately..._

* * *

 _Back at the streets..._

Nishinoya was rambling about something but when the last bit of sleep rubbed off from her, she blinked once.

 _Then again._

 ** _And again._**

From afar, she could see Daichi smiling while taking a photo of a tall tree. _Why is Daichi-san here though?_

Sensing that she has stopped, Nishinoya looked back to see Aoi frozen on the spot.

"Manju, what's wrong?"

She pointed. "Daichi-san is here."

Nishinoya traced her line of sight and stared but Daichi was nowhere to be found. "But Daichi-san's not there."

Aoi frowned. She was sure that he was just there a few minutes ago! But to stop her from worrying, Nishinoya ruffled her hair and snickered. "Maybe it's from your lack of sleep. You were too excited about this yesterday after all."

"I-I WAS NOT!"

"You sure are! You were humming a happy song while making your manjus when I stopped by the shop," he remembered then added, "You were also rolling back and forth on my bed last night that I had no choice but to hug you."

"S-STOP, Y-YUU-KUN! IT'S EMBARRASSING!"

Nishinoya heartily laughed at her blushing state but the three idiots (who clearly heard them) only mumbled, "Hugging... on bed... with a girl..."

* * *

Once the three idiots got back at the onsen, they immediately slumped by the door like a pile of dead bodies. Sugawara immediately stood up from his futon and carried them, along with Ennoshita and Asahi.

"Hey, what happened?" Sugawara asked. "By the way, have you met Daichi on your way here?"

"Sugawara-san, Noya-san is really an incredible guy," Hinata declared lifelessly.

Sugawara only tilted his head in confusion. "Huh?"

Kageyama looked at the side. "As expected of him."

"To think that we've been trying to know why he's not popular with girls, then he suddenly bagged one," Tanaka stated with a little bit of disappointment.

"What happened? What did you hear—"

They heard a feminine squeak from the other room. _"Y-YUU-KUN, WHY ARE YOU CHANGING IN FRONT OF ME?"_

Their eyes instantly widened. _They're just next door!_

Everyone (except for Yamaguchi and Tsukishima) hurriedly went to the wall and pressed their ears on it.

Nishinoya chuckled. _"My bad! I was used to changing in front of our managers."_

There was a moment of silence. _"Then... maybe I should get used to seeing you change in front of me."_

 _"Huh? I-It's okay, Manju. Just turn around so I could get changed."_

 _"No. I want to see you change here, Yuu-kun, so please take off your clothes."_

 _H-HOW STRAIGHTFORWARD! WILL IT HAPPEN NOW? AT THIS **EARLY** HOUR?_

 _"Whatever suits your boat, Manju."_

 _T-THEY'RE GONNA DO IT! THEY'RE **REALLY** GONNA DO IT!_

Yamaguchi awkwardly smiled at the intense sight of them nervous and panicking at what is happening at the other side of the wall. Tsukishima only had a deadpanned expression.

"You think they're jumping to a wrong conclusion?" Yamaguchi observed.

"Isn't it obvious?" Tsukishima shrugged.

The door suddenly slid open and Daichi went in then he noticed the others on the wall.

"What are they doing?" he asked.

"Something that we know is impossible to happen," Tsukishima murmured but Yamaguchi quickly reprimanded him to zip his mouth shut.

Daichi raised a brow. "Huh?"

"Never mind that, Daichi-san!" Yamaguchi suddenly interjected. "By the way, have you taken your pictures?"

The volleyball captain nodded. "I also sent some pictures to Takeda-sensei and the others in case they wanted a place to relax and unwind."

"That's a good idea!" Yamaguchi agreed. "Maybe Coach and Takeda-sensei would think of going here with us for—"

 _"OI MANJU STOP STRUGGLING AND LIFT YOUR CLOTHES!"_

There were a few moans and groans here and there. Yamaguchi slowly turned his head to their captain to persuade him that it wasn't what he thinks it is... _but it was_. Daichi's face was dark and he could hear crows cawing from a distance.

He slid the door open with force. "Let me teach them a lesson."

Tanaka and Hinata's faces were dark too as they followed after him. "Osu!"

"PLEASE! IT'S NOT WHAT YOU THINK!" Yamaguchi cried.

* * *

BONUS:

Nishinoya lifted one dainty leg and gently placed an ointment on the slightly purple spot on Aoi's skin. They were now both wearing their yukatas when Nishinoya suddenly noticed something on her leg.

"If you're having difficulties with carrying heavy things at the shop, you should ask for help," he reprimanded.

"It's just a small bruise!" Aoi defended. "I just got it because I was careless."

"It's still a bruise, Manju," he pressed further then pouted. "You do know that I made a pledge to take care of you."

Aoi just blushed and was speechless for a moment as she heard him sigh and mumble under his breath, "I still haven't even reintroduced myself to your parents as your boyfriend and then you got this."

"Yuu-kun, I told you it's fine," Aoi repeated, holding his face gently with her hands. "My parents know already that we are dating. Besides, they won't let me go here with you alone if you're not taking care of me well, right?"

Now it was Nishinoya's face that reddened at her statement. Aoi just giggled and kissed his forehead softly.

* * *

Author's note: The boys should really listen to Yamaguchi and Tsukishima though...


	10. trip to onsen 3

_Late evening..._

 _At the onsen..._

Hinata was relaxing in the hot water with Narita and Kinoshita chatting about something. Kageyama was busy soaping himself when the door slid open.

"Kageyama, is that you?" a familiar voice asked.

Hinata and the others immediately stopped and found Nishinoya with his hair down and a towel covering his manly parts.

"N-N-Noya-san!" the redhead stuttered. _Crap! The others will be following after us a bit later. What if Noya-san finds out that the whole team went here to stalk him and Akihana-san?_

"I-I-I don't want to die yet! Please have mercy!" Hinata suddenly begged.

Nishinoya tilted his head in confusion and Kageyama threw his soap at his head. "The heck are you saying, Hinata dumbass?" He glared at him.

"Oi Shoyo! Why suddenly hang out with Kinoshita and Narita?" Nishinoya asked.

"E-Er... it's..."

"Hinata and Kageyama wanted to bond with the other second years," Narita explained, quickly placing an arm around his shoulders like they're the best of friends. "Isn't that why we all came here? Right, Hinata?"

There was a jab on his stomach. "Y-Y-Yeah. Kageyama and I wanted to strengthen our bonds with them." And he followed it with an awkward laugh.

Nishinoya grinned and joined them in the water. "That's great! The strength formed in friendship will help us win."

The three awkwardly smiled. _Good thing, he bought it._

"By the way, what are you doing here, Nishinoya?" Kinoshita asked.

"Saeko-nee-san gave Manju two free tickets here so we decided to use it and relax."

"Wow! That's great!"

"Yeah, right? With this, I can finally be alone with her tonight."

Now all attention were pinned on him. _Was he really looking forward to this moment?_

"Manju's always busy with the shop and there's the volleyball practice after school. We may see each other everyday but I haven't touched her!" Nishinoya complained.

"What do you mean?" Narita asked.

Nishinoya was so focused. "You know..." Then he made a squeezing motion with his hands as if he was imagining pinching Aoi's cheeks.

But for Hinata who was dumbfounded with a super red face and steam shooting out of his ears, _Why is Noya-san moving his hands like a perverted old man? Did Kageyama teach him about these things?_

Narita and Kinoshita blushed at that. _So he was pertaining to **that**. _

"We get what you mean. We're growing boys after all!" Kinoshita just agreed, secretly wanting to avoid talking about the topic on hand.

"Y-Yeah! It's only natural to think of those things," Narita continued.

And after that they switched their topic to volleyball and other various stuff. When they were all finished bathing, they had to drag an almost lifeless and dizzy Hinata in the room.

"Is Hinata dead?" Sugawara poked on his form lying on the floor.

"What happened this time?" Ennoshita was the one to ask. Kinoshita whispered something in his ear and a few minutes later, Ennoshita was also lying beside Hinata.

"Everyone, hold on! Don't die on us!" Asahi almost wanted to cry.

* * *

 _At the guest room..._

Aoi was busy drying her hair with Nishinoya doing the same thing but with much more force so he could wax it up like he usually does. Upon noticing his distress, she knelt in front of him and helped him dry his hair with the towel.

Her hands were brushing with his and with her leaning forward, he could make out a bit of her fair skin. He decided to fixate his eyes on the floor, pretending to be interested on it.

"There. All done," she said, removing the towel.

Before she could go away, Nishinoya suddenly held both her hands with his and looked at her straight in the eyes. He looked so serious, his hazel ones drifting down to her dark ones until it rested on her lips. When he looked up, her eyes were wide in realization but her gaze was unwavering with her cheeks reddening.

"Manju," he called softly, rubbing circles around her hand, "we're interrupted last time."

It wasn't a question, but a statement. His face was getting closer, his warm breath fanning her lips.

"Do you want to continue where we left off?" he whispered huskily.

Her mouth slightly opened at the suggestion.

"Aoi?"

And the next thing, they were kissing each other. It was a soft and gentle one, very unlike the previous one which was short and sweet. Nishinoya moved his hands on her waist while she was threading her fingers on his hair.

He wanted full dominance so he gently set her on the futon which made her awkwardly blush even more. The mere fact that the lady set the futon into a single one when they announced they were a couple didn't help the situation. When she found him hungrily anticipating for her, she gulped.

 _Will it happen now?_

Nishinoya leaned down. Aoi instinctively closed her eyes.

 _I hope it won't hurt!_

Nishinoya only kissed her forehead, then her nose, the corner of her mouth, until he captured her lips again in a searing kiss. She clung on his shoulders for support and returned the kiss despite being inexperienced.

When he let go to catch his own breath, he noticed that her yukata was a bit crumpled with her lips raw red from kissing and eyes slightly dazed. The way her chest heaved with every pant from her pant made her all the more erotic.

Nishinoya gently placed a hand on her cheek and she slightly jumped. He was surprised.

 _She's scared._

Nishinoya didn't want to take it further so he immediately removed himself off her and sat with his back facing her.

"I almost trudged down the line of inevitable!" Nishinoya said aloud, holding his chest to calm his beating heart.

Aoi finally regained her senses and rolled over to his direction. "W-What are you saying?"

"Manju, touching you further without your consent is definitely a no!"

Now that got her attention so she sat up as well. "Yuu-kun—"

"I like you! But we're not ready for this stage yet. I just started dating you," he pointed out. "Also, you were so scared earlier. I thought you're gonna cry or something."

"Oh." _So he noticed..._ "Thank you. I am glad you thought of my feelings."

Nishinoya finally faced her but his face was full of determination. "Then let me take a pledge again."

He bowed. "I promise not to only take care of you, but to think more of your feelings in the future. Will you go out with me again?"

He didn't dare look up. Aoi only giggled, pulling his face up then kissing his lips.

She softly smiled. "Yes."

* * *

BONUS:

From the bushes, Tanaka and Hinata were crying their eyes out.

"Noya-san is so cool!" Hinata proclaimed, sniffing.

Tanaka agreed with him. "No wonder Aki-chan likes him."

"But Tanaka, you know that them spending some alone time here is your fault, right?" Sugawara reminded him.

Tanaka only frowned. "Shut up, Suga-san. It was an accident! An accident!"

And a few days after that, Daichi made a new rule to everyone in the team.

"The next time you want to talk to Nishinoya, be polite and make sure it is _really_ important. We cannot risk him going somewhere again and almost doing something _dangerous_ with Akihana-san."

Everyone deadpanned, "Yes."


	11. the odd parents

It was another ordinary Saturday morning. Aoi was humming a song while sweeping the front of the manju shop when someone called her name.

"Aoi-chan!"

She turned towards the voice and saw Nishinoya's grandfather with his usual flower-patterned shirt, signature shades, amd trademark grin. She quickly flashed a smile and bowed.

"Good morning, ojii-san!" she greeted. "The shop's still closed but I can prepare some manju for you."

He waved his hand off. "I didn't come here for some manju. Actually, there's someone who wanted to badly meet you."

 _Wanted to badly meet me?_

He suddenly pulled out someone who was hiding behind the lamp post. When Aoi caught sight of the tall figure, she now realized why this person wanted to see her. There's no mistaking the familiar wavy long brown hair and the magenta lips along with the flashy red dress and black stilletos.

The figure was teary-eyed, his make-up smearing all over his face as he sniffed. "Aoi-chan.."

"O-OTOU-CHAN?!"

* * *

 _At the shop..._

Akihana Toshiro sat in front of Aoi who was trying to calm him down. The box of tissues on the table was empty and even though she served him the usual green tea that would soothe him, it didn't ease the pain he was experiencing.

Especially when that pain involved her mother.

"Mitsu-chan probably doesn't love me anymore. I mean she's more manly than me and she's always the one doing most of the hard work," he cried. "All I do is serve drinks and mingle with customers at okama bars."

"Otou-chan, please don't think that way!" Aoi protested. It was new; seeing her father criticizing himself in their own relationship. "Okaa-san might be manlier but I know she loves you. Okaa-san even supported you in working in okama bars, right?"

Toshiro shook his head. "But Mitsu-chan told me last night that it might have been better if she married Sousuke-kun."

"Who's 'Sousuke-kun'?"

"He's our 30-something-year old neighbor. Mitsu-chan quickly became friends with him because Sousuke-kun is a chef and they both share recipes once in a while," he told her. "Then when I went home after work..." Toshiro didn't want to say it but he had to. "I saw him kissing your mother."

Aoi was horrified. Her mother might be manlier, but she also knows that no one has dared do those kinds of things to her because the Akihana matriarch would punch them in the gut before they do.

"And then we fought. When she said those words, I immediately packed up and left to see you. Then I saw Yuu-chan come out of the shop so I went to his house and I got drunk and cried to him all night that he wasn't able to sleep," he continued crying.

 _Poor Yuu-kun..._

"Does okaa-chan know you're here?" she asked. "Maybe I should—"

"No! Don't call her! It's better if we don't talk for a while."

"Eh? I think it would be better. Okaa-chan cannot run the Tokyo shop alone," Aoi said. "Besides—"

The shop's door slid open with brute force and a male version of Aoi with blonde pixie cut hair glared while panting. Toshiro only flinched in fear, trying to hide behind Aoi who seemed so calm.

"Okaa-chan—"

"OI TOSHIRO! HAVE YOU NO SHAME? NOT ONLY DID YOU DISTURB OUR PRECIOUS DAUGHTER AND YUU-CHAN, BUT YOU ALSO LEFT ME ALONE IN THE SHOP. HOW CAN I POSSIBLY WORK THERE ALONE?" Akihana Mitsuba practically yelled at him.

"W-Why are you the angry one?" Toshiro retorted. "You're the one who wanted to marry Sousuke-kun!"

"If I really wanted to marry that asshole, then I won't be coming here to drag your ass back to Tokyo!" Mitsuba replied then she pulled him by the ear. She turned to Aoi who seemed used to the scenario of them bickering. "Thank you for taking care of your father. I promise this will not happen again."

Aoi nodded. "Before you two go, I just want to ask if this Sousuke-kun really kissed you."

Mitsuba only frowned. "He did then I beat him up earlier when he came in the shop." Then she reverted her attention to he okama husband. "Now let's get going. We have to run the shop even if it's late."

The two waved off to their daughter and left. Aoi thought, _I should visit Yuu-kun later to see how he's doing._

* * *

BONUS:

 _At the Nishinoya residence..._

So when she did go to Nishinoya's house, his grandfather was watching the latest news when he said, "Go look after Yuu upstairs. He's been sleeping for far too long."

When she went in his room, the bed was almost slipping down to the floor. Another pillow was thrown across the room and he was snoring rather loudly with a small drool coming out of his mouth.

She giggled. _Very different from the time I confessed._

"Yuu-kun." She patted his shoulder. "Yuu-kun, it's almost noon. Wake up now."

And when he did, he thought he was still dreaming when he saw her face so he pulled her to him and locked her in a tight embrace.

Her face immediately reddened. "Y-Yuu—"

He kissed her head. "You smell so good," he whispered then he suddenly licked her cheek. "Makes me want to eat you."

 _E-Eat m-m-me?_

Aoi shook him again. "Y-Y-Yuu-kun! Please wake up. You're being weird."

Nishinoya did wake up and when he realized that he did lick her cheek, heat rushed up to his face then he sat up.

"Please forgive me! I thought you were edible like a manju at that moment so I did those things," he apologized then added, "But even though I call you Manju, I don't mind if I eat you or something."

Then he saw steam come out of her face so he continued, "It's not what you think, Manju! Please don't mistake me for a pervert or something."

 _Yuu-kun... Yuu-kun still is a man, after all._

* * *

Author's note: In case you didn't understand, Aoi's parents are crossdressers. Her father is an okama while her mother is just a manly woman who likes cooking.


	12. flashback 2

Author's note: yay another flashback!

* * *

Many people would ask why Nishinoya would insist Aoi to sleep in his house. So the libero would tell them a story that happened during his suspension.

Nishinoya would sometimes stop at the manju shop and talk to her about a lot of things-his boredom because of the suspension, his training with the girls' volleyball club, his whole body so restless because he really wanted to keep training; Aoi just listened. After all, this rare opportunity is a miracle given to her.

 _I must not waste this chance!_

In the middle of Nishinoya's rambling, a middle-aged man came in with a pleasant expression. But when he spotted Nishinoya at the corner of his vision, he slightly glared.

Nishinoya narrowed his eyes at that. _What's his problem?_

The man smiled at Aoi sickeningly. "Aoi-chan, my box of manjus."

When Nishinoya turned to Aoi, she seemed so nervous and awkward but she still handed him the box. The man took it and the libero was sure that he intentionally brushed his fingers on hers.

"Manju, you still have work to do, right?" he said.

Aoi nodded. "Please excuse me."

And when she was out of sight, he heard the man click his tongue and murmur, "What a nuisance!"

Then he left the shop and Nishinoya followed her in the kitchen.

"Manju, who's that jerk? Has he been coming here?"

"He's Morimoto-san and he's a regular customer."

 _Now that's odd._ "So a regular customer gets to touch you like that, is that it? Gramps wouldn't even dare do that."

"Nishinoya-san, it's not like I want him to do those things," she defended. "Besides, I cannot afford the shop to lose a customer."

"Manju, you don't need a pervert like that as your customer," Nishinoya told her. "You need customers who don't sexually harass you while you're working."

Aoi was only silent as she placed the buns in the steamer. Nishinoya could only sigh. "Did he stalk you?"

Again she was silent. He took it as a yes.

"You know, Manju, I think it would be better if you sleep in our house for a while."

"I-I'm fine here."

"No. If he decides to break in, what are you gonna do?"

And so she has agreed to sleep in his house. Nishinoya would take the floor and Aoi would occupy the bed. But when she noticed his restlessness and the large bags under his eyes, she insisted they sleep in the same bed.

"Manju, if I suddenly touch you, you can slap me in the face," he offered to which she laughed.

"Don't worry. I know you won't."

The next day, she woke up and he was snuggling on her like a pillow.

* * *

BONUS:

Tanaka was walking to Nishinoya's house when he saw a middle-aged man hiding behind a lamp post while taking a peek at Aoi's bedroom window.

Suddenly, the man walked towards the shop's doors and was about to pick lock it when Tanaka stood behind him.

"The fuck are you doing, man?" he asked, sending him an evil glare.

The man jumped backwards in fright. "N-N-Nothing! Just trying to get inside the house. My wife kicked me out."

Tanaka scoffed. This man was definitely lying. He held him up by his collar. "Stop spouting bullshit. You're trying to break in and get into Aki-chan's pants. Is that it?"

"N-N-No! I don't know her. You're making a mistake."

"So what Noya said about Aki-chan having a stalker is true, huh? You want me to beat you up? Huh?"

The man was horrified at his expression that he screamed at the top of his lungs and scrambled away from the shop.

"Tch. What a coward."

After that, Aoi was able to sleep alone in her house.


	13. earning gifts (and secrets)

_At the Karasuno High School Gym..._

They wanted to all think that it was all in their imagination-it wasn't though. It seems that Tsukishima and Aoi were closer than what they had suspected. Nishinoya didn't seem to mind, but witnessing Tsukishima walk towards her and say "please come to our house later" was when all hell broke loose.

"Why would she come at your house?" Nishinoya slightly snarled, baring his fangs like he's some kind of wild beast protecting Aoi.

"Why wouldn't she? She has something to take care of there." Then he eyed Aoi and smirked. "Right, Akihana-san?"

It was for a few seconds but the girl shyly nodded. Nishinoya blinked for a few seconds before realizing that she looked like she was _anticipating_ her return there.

Nishinoya turned to Tsukishima, slightly annoyed and confused. "Oi! What have you done to Manju?"

The tall middle blocker shrugged. "Akihana-san owes me a _favor_ of a lifetime. If she doesn't come to our house tomorrow, then she should just forget _it_."

 _Forget what?_

"I-I-I w-will go, Tsukishima-kun," she announced then added, "You don't have to worry about it."

"Yeah sure," he deadpanned.

Tsukishima walked towards Yachi and Yamaguchi. The two of them were left alone but Aoi could clearly hint that Nishinoya was sulking.

"Yuu-kun, please don't be mad," Aoi assured him. "It's really nothing to get so worked up for."

Nishinoya just huffed in response. " _Nothing_ , huh? If it's nothing, then tell me about it."

"I-I can't! It's Tsukishima-kun and I's secret!"

A vein popped on his head. "So you keeping secrets with him now?"

"Y-Yuu-kun..." _He's so scary when he gets jealous._

Nishinoya drank from his water bottle. "Whatever. I'm going to continue my practice. If you're busy with something then go ahead."

Then he joined Tanaka and the other second years, leaving Aoi slightly guilty for her connivance with Tsukishima.

* * *

 _After practice..._

Nishinoya might've been the angry one, but Tanaka knew that he's also one to easily give in. Aoi quickly left to work at the manju shop with Nishinoya taking the practice way too seriously that he berated Asahi to crush and defeat Tsukishima, calling him 'girlfriend stealer'.

When the shop's door slid open, Aoi stepped out with a box of cake in her hands.

"A cake? Is Aki-chan now making cakes?" Tanaka questioned.

Nishinoya narrowed his eyes. "I dunno."

And they followed her until they reached Tsukishima's house. After ringing the bell, the door opened to reveal Tsukishima's older brother who was merrily chatting with her.

"Akihana-chan, do you want to come in and have dinner? Mother cooked some," Akiteru politely offered.

Aoi shook her head in negation. "It's okay, Akiteru-san. I have to go back to the shop and deliver some manjus."

"Is that so? Then I'll pay now." He reached for the money in his pockets but it seemed that there's none. "Wait a sec, Aoi," then he leaned back, "Kei, where's the payment for your favorite strawberry shortcake?"

Suddenly, Tsukishima slammed the bills on Akiteru's head with some of the coins falling on him. "You left it on the table, aniki."

Akiteru slightly laughed as he gathered the money. "Oh, my bad. My bad."

Tsukishima sighed in annoyance as he took the box of cake with Akiteru paying Aoi.

"Well, I'll be off." She bowed slightly. "Thank you for the payment."

"Likewise."

Then she left the Tsukishima residence and went straight to the Foothill Store instead of going back to the shop. When she went out, she was humming the familiar happy tune again with a plastic bag in her hands.

"Noya, is it just me or did she buy the last limited box edition of Gari Gari Kun?" Tanaka asked suspiciously, making out the brand name from the bag.

"It seems like it," Nishinoya agreed.

* * *

And the next day, Aoi gave the limited box edition of Gari Gari Kun to Nishinoya as an apology gift for making him jealous all of the time.

"You also mentioned that you've always wanted to buy this," she added.

He was glaring at her but there was a blush on his cheeks so it would do for now.

"J-Just don't make me jealous next time or I'll really get angry and ignore you."

She nodded.

* * *

BONUS:

Yamaguchi asked during lunchtime, "Why did Akihana-san baked you a cake though?"

"I saw something I shouldn't have seen..."

 _Tsukishima saw Aoi counting paper bills in the garden while holding a flyer of Gari Gari Kun._

"And then she found out something troublesome."

 _Then Aoi suddenly found out that he likes strawberry shortcake when a coupon for a free strawberry shortcake fell from his pocket due to him taking out his mp3 player._

Yamaguchi didn't know what to say so he just nodded.


	14. flashback 3 (part 1)

It was one of those usual nights again when Aoi was already sound asleep and Nishinoya was just laying beside her, his hazel eyes content at her closed eyes, brown hair sprawled on his sheets, and peaceful face that calmed him down.

He brushed a strand of hair and pushed it back to see more of her face. It reminded him of the first time she slept over in his room. That time, she wasn't able to sleep without a warm presence beside her so she would tire herself out, like telling countless stories about her manjus; counting the stars; even praising him for being the Guardian Deity of the Karasuno Volleybal Club.

It wasn't until he found out that she's really uneasy without a presence of either a large stuff toy or human beside her because the warmth reminded her of her parents. So he told her to move over and he'll do his best to be her own guardian deity so she could rest.

"I'm so lucky," she cooed that time, snuggling in the blanket. "Karasuno's guardian deity is beside me."

He looked away to hide his blush. "This is nothing. Not getting enough sleep will make your cheeks thinner so this way is better."

He heard her giggle until she drifted off to dreamland.

But their relationship suddenly took a twisted turn when Aoi informed him that she won't be staying over anymore at his house. It was one of those times when she and Tanaka went over to his house with his grandfather going somewhere for business.

The three were situated at the living room. The two boys were laughing at something when she dropped the bomb with a nervous expression.

"What are you saying, Manju? We already agreed that you're sleeping over here," Nishinoya said.

Tanaka nodded. "Besides, I still see that Morimoto lingering around here. If he finds out you're alone, he might harass you again."

"I don't think he will do that," Aoi countered. "There are times that I go home alone and sleep in the shop but I'm perfectly safe. I guess it's time that I stop relying on you guys."

Instead of witnessing an approving reaction, Nishinoya fixated his eyes on her like she's some suspicious criminal.

"Nishinoya-san?"

"Manju, is there something wrong?"

"N-Nothing."

 _She stuttered,_ the two boys thought.

"Did I do something when I'm asleep? 'Cause if I did, then I'll—"

Aoi stopped him before he could say more. "You didn't do anything, Nishinoya-san. I just... I just want to do things on my own from now on."

"Do things on your own?" he repeated. "Why? Can you defend yourself from that stalker in case he comes on you again?"

"Er... no—"

"What if he breaks in and goes beyond what he did last time?"

"Noya, calm down," Tanaka interfered, sensing the tension between the two as he placed a hand on Nishinoya's shoulder. "I think Aki-chan just wants to learn to defend herself alone. Isn't that right, Aki-chan?"

Aoi nodded and Nishinoya was only displeased.

"Then show it to me."

Before she could speak, Nishinoya suddenly tackled her on the ground with his hands gripping her wrists and his whole body towering over her. Tanaka tried to remove him from her but it was useless; Nishinoya was using his full strength on her.

Aoi struggled to break free only for him to tighten his hold. "Nishinoya-san—"

"You want to defend yourself, right? Then show it to me. Prove it to me then I'll let you do whatever you want."

"NOYA, STOP IT!"

"SHUT UP!" His eyes were full of fury. "You think men are so simple that they'd back away if another man scares them?"

"Nishinoya-san, please let go of me!"

"OI NOYA! LISTEN TO HER!"

"YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT MEN, AOI. YOU SAY YOU WANT TO BE ON YOUR OWN BUT YOU CAN'T EVEN BREAK FREE FROM ME."

Aoi was frightened. Even if she continued struggling, he'll only trap her with his might. It was futile to resist. She was sure there's gonna be bruises later on.

 _This Nishinoya-san... I'm afraid of him._

"What's the matter, huh, Aoi? Can't defend yourself?" he taunted, inching his face closer so he could take a peek of her expression. "Why not show me how you can handle yourself from that Morimoto bastard?"

"NOYA, THAT'S ENOUGH ALREADY!"

"Please let go of me," she mumbled, looking away from as a tear escaped from her eye.

But even with her helpless expression, he still wasn't letting go of her wrists. He wanted her to fight back. He wanted her to kick him or slap his cheek in mad fury like those girls in school whenever he tries to peek under their skirts.

He clenched his jaw. "Fight me."

There was a sniff. Her voice was shaking. "Please let go of me," she repeated.

He was beyond mad. To think that she could do things on her own was one thing. But selfishly saying things without proof was another.

His hold on her finally loosened as her tears flowed freely and her cries could be heard in the whole room. Tanaka looked back and forth between a pitiful Aoi and a disappointed Nishinoya who were both caught up in the tension that they forgot about him.

"Suit yourself," Nishinoya murmured then left the room.

* * *

BONUS:

After the fight, Tanaka convinced Aoi to stay over at his place because it won't be a good idea to sleep alone at the shop.

"Nee-chan might be able to cheer you up a bit," he said.

But Aoi was silent the whole time even when Saeko told her funny stories about Tanaka's childhood and such. It was when she accidentally mentioned Nishinoya that Aoi cried again, feeling up the bruise on her wrist especially when he seriously said her name.

"It's all my fault," she told her.

"No, Aoi-chan, it's not your fault," Saeko responded. "I mean you have the freedom to rely on yourself for once. As a woman, we cannot always depend on men."

Aoi only shook her head. "I should've told him that I cannot sleep in his house anymore because I don't want to like him more than I should."

Tanaka and his sister were frozen after the statement with Aoi crying in the background.

 _We've been suspecting something going on and she just blurted it out like it's nothing,_ the siblings thought.


	15. flashback 3 (part 2)

It took a week before she got in contact with him again. He purposely avoided her, making her feel as if apologizing to him won't be enough because he doesn't want to her excuses. And there she learned that Nishinoya was a stubborn fellow when he wants to be.

"Please don't mind that Noya," Tanaka assured her one time. "Sometimes he has a hard time accepting things."

Aoi nodded and sensing her forlorn expression, Tanaka added, "Besides, I believe he's still worried about you. I mean there are some times that he really listens especially when it's about your safety."

* * *

The problem might've also took its toll on Nishinoya because when Tanaka hit the ball at his direction, it immediately landed on his own face and bounced in the air. Everyone was worried because Nishinoya never makes a mistake in receiving all their spikes.

When Kiyoko placed a hand on his forehead, she confirmed it. "He has a fever."

Coach Ukai sighed. "There's nothing we can do about it. Nishinoya, pack up and take a rest. We can't have our libero tiring out."

Hinata nodded furiously. "Noya-san, defeat that cold immediately so you could teach me Rolling Thunder!"

"Osu!" The others agreed which was a little bit loud that Nishinoya might have thought that his brain shook a little at the intense emotion.

"Nishinoya, it would be best if someone accompanies you back home," Daichi suggested.

"You might faint in the middle of the road or something," Asahi added further but Nishinoya shook his head and tried to smile.

"It's fine, Asahi-san. I can manage on my own. After all, I am the Guardian Deity."

After the remark, he went to the locker room and everyone turned to each other.

"Noya-san is in low spirits," Hinata noticed, his tone in worry.

Yamaguchi agreed. "He's been distracted for a few days since."

"Tanaka, you're the closest one to him," Ennoshita said. "Do you know something?"

Tanaka just shrugged. "I don't know. Noya's... well... he's been like the usual."

Sugawara and the others squinted their eyes in suspiscion. _He's lying._

But they didn't interrogate Tanaka further and Nishinoya silently left the gym, thinking of possible routes to take so he won't meet Aoi or (please don't make this happen) bump into her.

* * *

As he walked down the road, he let out a heavy breath and felt his eyes drooping down. He slapped his face. _Just a little bit longer and I'll be able to rest._

His body was already betraying him though. His vision was getting all blurry and the road down to his house seemed to swirl. Afterwards, he saw nothing but darkness.

When he opened his eyes, he was already wearing his 'A Match For Thousand' shirt and a pair of shorts. He slipped down the blanket that was covering him and was about to stand up from the bed when he heard noises.

"Sorry for disturbing you during your work hours, Aoi-chan. If only I didn't have to go out with some important friends, I would've taken care of him," Nishinoya heard his grandfather say.

He immediately lied back down and covered himself with the blanket, trying his best to pretend that he was asleep.

 _What's she doing here? As if I'll forgive her that easily,_ he bitterly thought, remembering the time when he pushed her down and taunted her, only for her to cry and look at him as if he's the one at fault.

"It's fine, ojii-san. I wanted to be of help to him since Yuu-kun's been protecting me," she replied.

Nishinoya frowned. _And since when has she been calling me by my name?_

Aoi always calls him by his last name. When he told her to call him by his given name to avoid confusion with his grandfather, she still insisted to call him 'Nishinoya-san'. He remembered being jealous of Tanaka when Aoi instantly called him 'Ryu-san'.

He felt her place a wet cloth on his forehead gently, humming the same happy tune like she always does. Nishinoya was secretly enjoying her caresses despite his brain telling him that he should awaken and tell her to leave.

"I'm glad that you're sleeping," she told him. "Because if you were awake, I probably wouldn't get the chance to talk to you."

He wanted to huff in response. It's all her fault. If she wasn't stupid and just relied on him, maybe they would've—

"I want to apologize first for not calling you by your name." She breathed out a sigh. "You're too special for me. I want to be able to call you by that name when the right time comes."

 _What right time is she talking about? I wouldn't mind if she calls me 'Yuu' by now._

"And honestly, I lied... about wanting to sleep on my own."

There was a pause. Nishinoya could feel his heart thumping in anticipation.

"The truth is, I really like you."

He heard her laugh softly, as if she was testing out the waters. Nishinoya was only surprised though, as she brushed her hand on his cheek. "I like you. I've been liking you since middle school."

 _Middle school? So she meant those times when she would drop by the house to chat with Gramps?_

"I was always amazed at your passion for volleyball and your determination in achieving your goals." Then she added, "I am happy that I got closer to you. But the more I was relying on you, the more I hope for something which cannot be."

Aoi tried not to cry. _This will be the last time,_ she told herself. "Which is why I wanted to confess now, so I could let this out of my chest and move on."

She must be fumbling with her fingers again, he thought, knowing that it was her usual habit whenever she confesses something so personal.

"And after this, maybe we could talk again like how we used to."

 _And how do you expect me to do that?_ Nishinoya wanted to ask.

"And maybe by then, I could finally call your name."

She was smiling at him softly, her fingers still tracing the lines of his face.

"For now, I hope you get well soon, Karasuno's Guardian Deity," she whispered.

Then he felt her lips on his-soft, gentle, quick, but sincere. Afterwards, she pecked his forehead and left the room. Nishinoya waited for a few minutes before sitting up on the bed and covering his mouth with the back of his hand. His face was red with steam shooting out from his ears. He wanted to be mad but found no reason to be.

He clicked his tongue in annoyance. _Damn that Manju. She thinks I'd bend that easily?_

He frowned. "That idiot! She shouldn't just easily give her first kiss like that. What if I didn't like it?"

* * *

BONUS:

 _Back to present..._

Nishinoya was the first to wake up. When he opened his eyes, her sleeping face and the gentle smile on her lips were the first things to greet him.

He smiled back and softly kissed her lips. "Ohayou."

Then he got up from the bed, did a little stretching, and went downstairs.

What he didn't know was Aoi being awake the whole time, covering herself with the sheets from head to toe.

She was blushing mad. _That Yuu-kun! He's getting his revenge._


	16. dismissing the rumor

_After volleyball practice..._

It was summer when the two simpletons and a familiar hyperactive duo decided to buy some popsicles on their way home. Nishinoya was animatedly telling a story on how he protected their beloved Kiyoko-san from other men when a thought suddenly crossed Tanaka's mind.

 _Aki-chan hasn't been with Noya lately._

Aoi would most likely be busy with the shop but it was only for a few days then she would come by the club, either to give Nishinoya some snacks or wait for him to finish. But it has been almost a week now. He even spotted Nishinoya having his lunch alone by the vending machine.

 _Are the two of them fighting?_

"Noya, I want to ask something," Tanaka said.

Nishinoya finished his popsicles in two bites when he turned to him expectantly. "What is it?"

"Well... I haven't seen Aki-chan with you lately." Tanaka nervously rubbed the back of his head. "Are you two... in a fight or something?"

There, he dropped the bomb. Hinata and Kageyama both were wide-eyed as they turned to each other slowly as if something unspeakable just happened in front of them.

 _Tanaka-san didn't just ask him_ ** _that_**

Well, they can't back out now. Everyone from the volleyball club had also been wondering about the two. Though Nishinoya was the same Nishinoya while practicing with them, they haven't seen Aoi nor heard him mention her name.

And so the three waited for his answer but he just looked blankly at them and blinked. Nishinoya furrowed his brows. "What fight are you talking about?"

"W-Well we were just wondering since she hasn't visited you during practice and..." Tanaka tried to explain, all the while giving the two simpletons a look as if saying _'you two help me out here'_.

Hinata just nodded. "Y-Y-Yes, Noya-san! We haven't seen her so we thought—"

Nishinoya just laughed heartily, making them all bewildered.

 _Did we get it wrong? So there wasn't a fight, after all._

"Thanks for the concern, but Manju and I aren't fighting," he cleared up which made them sigh in relief.

"Then why is she not dropping by to visit?" Kageyama asked.

Nishinoya thought for a moment before answering, "Actually, I have no idea either."

" **WHAT?** "

"Well, if I did something wrong and Manju's angry with me, she will tell me and I do the same," Nishinoya explained. "Manju doesn't give me the cold shoulder when something goes wrong. We both don't like fighting either." Then he gave out a long frustrated sigh. "I guess it's another case of her keeping secrets from me."

"Then what kind of secret would she keep from you, Noya-san?" Hinata raised the question.

Nishinoya only shrugged. "I don't know, but she looked like she really wanted to say something."

The three were concerned. Countless what-if's were running in their minds but the only thing that they could come up was: what if she wants to break up with him?

"But it's not like she's breaking up with me or something," Nishinoya added with a smile, oblivious from their thoughts. "Manju doesn't really like depending on others so she keeps everything to herself."

* * *

 _The next day..._

Tanaka yawned and stared blankly at the board that morning while his classmates were chatting with each other. There was no morning practice today but his body seemed to be used to early hours of waking up so he just went straight to his classroom with droopy eyes and a silent wish for the day to pass so he could spend more time with his bed.

"Hey have you heard the rumor about Class 5's Akihana Aoi?" his classmate whispered.

Tanaka's ear instantly flinched. _Did he just say Aki-chan's name?_

"You mean her affair with Ichikawa?" the other guy guessed.

 _Ichikawa? Our class' Ichikawa?_ Tanaka looked at the guy sitting near the window. It was Ichikawa Saito with his frivolous looks, blonde hair, and playboy grin. He's also tall, probably around his height. He was surrounded by their other female classmates, two girls clinging on his arms like they own him. He could only frown with burning rage deep inside his heart. _Ah, another enemy of man._

"Someone said that Ichikawa and Akihana were kissing in an empty classroom," Tanaka heard his classmate say.

"Are you sure?" the other one asked. "Maybe it's just one of his flings."

The guy nodded. "It was definitely her."

There was a click of tongue plus a disappointed sigh. "To think that she's been dating someone from the volleyball club."

Tanaka didn't want to hear the rest of the story so he approached the two men, gripping their shoulders tight that he was sure some bones cracked. "Hey, it's still early. It would be better if we continue this chat elsewhere, no?"

His dark expression and the flames around him reminded them of the dangerous crows lingering around the school. There was a large gulp and shiver running down their spines before they nodded and the three of them went out of the room.

Later that day, Class 2-1 shared their P.E. class with Class 2-3 which meant that Tanaka and Nishinoya will get to play against each other.

"And to think that volleyball is the game for today", he beamed excitedly. "I'll be sure to beat you up, Noya!"

Nishinoya bumped fists with him. "Give it your best shot, Ryu!"

The two were grinning with each other but the merry atmosphere was cut off when Ichikawa went in with the girls suddenly cheering for him. Tanaka observed Nishinoya but the smaller guy was just staring intently at Ichikawa as if he's a new being that he hasn't seen.

"Is he your teammate, Ryu?" Nishinoya asked.

Tanaka shook his head in negation. "I'm on a different group. Why?"

"Well, the teacher said the leader of our opposing team would be Ichikawa." Nishinoya pointed at the blonde playboy who was still surrounded by girls then he patted Tanaka's shoulder. "Good luck on your game, Ryu. Looks like we're not each other's opponent for today."

Tanaka wanted to whine but he just relented and Nishinoya went to his teammates. The volleyball game for their subject wasn't a formal one. It was a 3 vs. 3 game with a rule that indicates the winning team with ten points will get a higher grade than the losing team. Given that they were only three members, Nishinoya had no choice but to also play as a spiker on this one.

Tanaka saw Ichikawa sneering at Nishinoya, as if telling him that he already had him before the match even began.

He gritted his teeth slightly. _The nerve of that guy._

Earlier, he found out that Ichikawa kissed Aoi while they were both on duty and when he remembered Nishinoya's words on how Aoi would keep everything to herself, it didn't take long for him to figure everything out. And while he was at it, there were even rumors that Aoi was spending a lot more time with Ichikawa than Nishinoya which he couldn't believe since Aoi spends more time with their shop.

Tanaka turned back to the game. It seems that Ichikawa's group was at a set point with 8:7. Nishinoya was usually quiet but there was a hidden anger beneath his eyes as Ichikawa still continued provoking him. The others must have noticed it too.

"This doesn't feel like a normal play."

Someone agreed. "It feels like a personal fight between Ichikawa and the small guy."

"So it's true that the manju girl from Class 5 was cheating on him?"

"I guess so. Well, Ichikawa's popular so the girl probably got attracted to him."

Tanaka gave them a villanous expression before watching the game again. _Aki-chan's not that kind of woman, you bastards._

The game is now on 9:9. _Noya, take that one point and beat that Ichikawa bastard for kissing Aki-chan!_

When someone tossed the ball, Ichikawa was ready to block when Nishinoya suddenly jumped and spiked the ball hard at his direction, earning them the final point and causing everyone in the gym to be silent and nervous at the tension between them.

The whistle signalled the end of the game. While Nishinoya's teammates cheered, Ichikawa was glaring at him but he just gave him a blank expression. The teacher instructed them to shake hands with each other but instead of doing so, Ichikawa grabbed the collar of his shirt with Nishinoya unfazed at his fury.

"Nishinoya, was it? Earlier, you spiked the ball at me. You did that on purpose, didn't ya?" he guessed with an evil smirk. "Can't handle getting your woman stolen from a guy like me?"

 _That bastard! I want to beat him up!_ Tanaka thought, cracking his knuckles in the process.

Nishinoya just sighed. "What are you talking about? You didn't steal Aoi from me."

Tanaka stopped. _Huh?_

Ichikawa was already trembling in anger. He yelled, "Don't fuck with me! Your girlfriend and I kissed while you were out there playing volleyball on your own." He taunted the small libero. "Heck, she even told me she enjoyed it better than yours."

Nishinoya's face held no reaction. "If she enjoyed it that much, then did she kiss you back?"

Ichikawa was confused. Nishinoya then continued, "Aoi told me everything. You were the one who forced a kiss on her."

Everyone was shocked in disbelief. Ichikawa looked so embarassed that his hands finally let go of Nishinoya's shirt.

"Let me tell you something for a change. I never did anything to her that was against her will," Nishinoya said then glared at him. "So the next time you lay your hands on her or spread false rumors about you two, I'll beat you up for real."

Then Nishinoya left with Tanaka cheering on how he was so cool earlier. Ichikawa was just dumbfounded and his fangirls already left him.

* * *

BONUS:

 _After school..._

"Hey, how did you know about the rumor?" Tanaka asked, sipping from his drink with Nishinoya eating his favorite popsicle. "Last night, you told us that you had no idea about Aki-chan's secret."

"Honestly, I still have no idea about the rumor," Nishinoya confessed which greatly surprised Tanaka that he had to double take.

"W-What? T-Then earlier—your spike and you even told that Ichikawa—"

"I was pissed because he was making fun of me then he suddenly mentioned about the kiss. I had to ride along to get back at him," the shorter guy explained then added, "Besides, I'll get suspended again if I punch his face or something."

 _Well, that is true. The last time you got suspended, the team had a hard time practicing receives._

"Hey Noya. Do you believe what that Ichikawa said earlier?"

Nishinoya just shrugged in negation. "Of course not! As if Manju will agree on kissing that bastard."

Tanaka hummed in response. When Nishinoya finished his popsicle stick, he read the winner sign.

"What a lucky day!" Nishinoya beamed. "Guess I'll buy again for Manju so she would cheer up and talk to me again."

Tanaka sighed then smiled contently. _Guess there was really no fight after all._


End file.
